Market Summary Article

S&P/TSX Composite Index

S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index

Stock futures pointed to a flat opening for Canada's main stock index on Thursday as investors digested economic data.

The S&P/TSX Composite Index prospered 26.32 points to end Wednesday at 16,159.67

The Canadian dollar picked up 0.13 cents to 78.09 cents U.S. Thursday morning.

March futures were up 0.03% Thursday.

The Trump administration on Wednesday recommended steep anti-subsidy duties on Bombardier's CSeries jets, setting up the next round of a fierce international trade dispute between the United States and Canada.

Desjardins raised the rating on Quebecor to buy from hold

RBC cuts the rating on Western Energy Services to sector perform from outperform

On the economic front, Statistics Canada said November's consumer price index rose 2.1% on a year-over-year basis in November, following a 1.4% increase in October. On a seasonally-adjusted monthly basis, inflation was up 0.5% in November.

The agency also said that retail trade rose 1.5% to $49.9 billion in October. Higher sales at new car dealers were the main contributor to the gain.

The TSX Venture Exchange squeezed out gains of 0.73 points Wednesday to 805.69

ON WALLSTREET

U.S. stock index futures pointed to a higher open on Thursday, after a major bill was approved by Congress.

Futures for the Dow Jones Industrials added 39 points, or 0.2%, to 24,780

S&P 500 futures gained 5.5 points, or 0.2%, to 2,687, while futures on the NASDAQ Composite index picked up 5.5 points, or 0.1%, to 6,494.50

In earnings, Nike is set to report its latest figures after the close. Accenture reported quarterly earnings that beat expectations earlier on Thursday. CarMax also posted quarterly earnings.

On Wednesday, a major hurdle surrounding overhauling the U.S. tax code was conquered after House Republicans voted to approve tax reform, consequently meaning that the legislation can be sent to President Donald Trump's desk by Christmas.

The overhaul is expected to become law for 2018, with the bill set to cut corporation tax rates while temporarily trimming the tax burden for the majority of people.